I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 15 years, and a vegan for 5. In all that time, I’ve tried so many tactics to persuade my peers, friends, and family to change their habits and follow a veg lifestyle as well. I’ve tried being the nice vegan who didn’t say anything. I tried being the informative vegan, and I even tried being the angry aggressive vegan. Well, that last tactic wasn’t intentional, it just happened when I thought I was failing and I didn’t understand why. None of that worked. So I “gave up.” I stopped pushing it to people specifically. I started focusing on my veganism. I created a resource and welcomed anyone and everyone to come—but I stopped directly telling people to go vegan. I lived by example and I was showing people instead how great veganism was.
And that’s when it happened. The text messages flowed in. The comments were subtle at first, but clear. People were coming to me for help to go vegan! Or, just asking for how to be healthier, or eat more vegan (read: plant-based) meals. And that is so very encouraging! Here are some examples of non-veg folks reaching out to me!
So don’t give up. Put your priorities and the animal’s priorities first. People will see and they’ll follow suit!
This is awesome! Thanks for the encouragement, it does feel hopeless sometimes when people around you don’t change.
I’m so happy it’s an encouraging story. It really brightened my day and goes to show that even when you don’t think you’re making a difference, you are!